Dijo Jose Anthony is one among the successful directors to have emerged out of the new wave of mainstream Malayalam cinema. The director, in addition to his work behind the camera, is known for his penchant for innovative marketing strategies for his films like Jana Gana Mana (2022) and his latest directorial effort Malayalee From India (2024). The promotional videos featuring himself and the star of the film Nivin Pauly, have been going viral on social media for their cheeky chemistry and banter. Malayalee From India had been promoted as a unhinged comedy by the makers, but the recent teaser suggests a more seriously-toned thriller that features the journey of a common man, pitted against the system.
Written by Sharis Mohammed, the film also stars Anaswara Rajan, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Manju Pillai and Salim Kumar among others. “This is the first time that I am getting this much time to promote a film. Be it Queen (2018) or Jana Gana Mana, I was running around in the final days for their patch works. Since Malayalee From India already had a release date announced, we were able to set aside time for promotional content.”
Dijo recalls how he got associated with the film. “Sharis Mohammed, my writer, had other plans with this story initially and I was not in the picture. But one day he narrated this kernel of an idea to me and I latched onto it. He was reluctant in telling me the idea initially because our first two films had the affectations of courtroom dramas and he thought I might not like another kind of film. I did not want to repeat myself in any way and this sounded suitable for my sensibility as a filmmaker. And then Nivin Pauly came on board and everything worked out for us.”